Editor's Note This study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are immunogenic in pregnant and lactating women, and they induce immune responses against variants. For the study, researchers enrolled 30 pregnant, 16 lactating, and 57 neither pregnant nor lactating women…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and School of Engineering, Charlottesville, finds that wastewater-based monitoring for COVID-19 is an effective means for detecting and controlling the virus in congregate living settings. The researchers monitored wastewater from two student dormitory complexes for 8 weeks and…

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Editor's Note On May 10, Reuters reported that COVID-19 cases in the US dropped 17% to less than 290,000 for the week ending May 9. This is the fourth week in a row that new cases have decreased, and the fewest weekly cases since September. COVID-19 deaths fell 1.3% to…

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Editor's Note This study from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis,  finds an association between vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in hospital employees and a decreased risk of symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. Between December 17, 2020, and March 20, 2021, 5,217 healthcare workers (HCWs) met vaccination criteria—3,052 (58.5%) received…

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Editor's Note The US averaged 48,000 new COVID-19 cases per day in the past week. This is a 15% improvement from last week, and the first time since October 2020 that average daily cases have fallen below 50,000. Nationally, deaths from COVID-19 fell 3% to 4,819, the fewest deaths in…

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Editor's Note National Nurses Week begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The theme for this year’s Nurses Week is “Nurses: A Voice to Lead—A vision for future healthcare.” The American Nurses Association (ANA) has a resource tool kit, free webinar, merchandise, and more for…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 28, reported that more than 98 million people in the US are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is 29.5% of the population. The count included two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, as well as the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson’s…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were 94% effective in preventing hospitalizations in US adults aged 65 and older who were fully vaccinated. The vaccines were 64% effective at preventing hospitalization in…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on April 28, announced that it has developed a new COVID-19 vaccine resources page to help consumers make a more informed decision about getting vaccinated. The page provides insights from experts about the vaccines, resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and sample…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 27, announced new interim public health recommendations on activities fully vaccinated people can resume with and without wearing a mask. Among the recommendations: Fully vaccinated people can attend small gatherings outdoors with other vaccinated people or a mix…

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